Brunello Cucinelli has set the indicative price range for its initial public offering between EUR6.75 a share and EUR7.75/shr, valuing the Italian cashmere clothing maker at up to EUR527 million, according to an announcement published in a local newspaper Friday.

Cucinelli, whose sweaters are worn by Prince William, movie stars and other public figures, published the announcement with details of the IPO in newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore one day after obtaining final regulatory approval to go ahead and list its stock in Milan, the first for the exchange this year.

Cucinelli, owned by the entrepreneur of the same name, plans to offer 20.4 million of its shares, or 30% of the total. Its IPO will run from April 16 to 27. If a greenshoe option is fully exercised, the free float will reach 33% of the share capital.

The proposed price at the top end of the range gives Cucinelli an enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of 12.8 times, and a price/earnings ratio of 22.9 times.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) and Mediobanca SpA (MB.MI) are the global coordinators.

Cucinelli follows peers Salvatore Ferragamo SpA (SFER.MI), which listed its stock in Milan last June, and Prada SpA (1913.HK), which opted to list in Hong Kong to take advantage of the popularity of Italian fashion brands in Asia.

Outside of the fashion world, companies have been more cautious about going public in light of the volatile market conditions.

Italy's rocket propulsion maker, Avio, has postponed its plans to list.

In 2011, Cucinelli had sales of EUR243 million, of which 70% came from overseas. Its earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, reached EUR40 million.

It operates in more than 50 countries through a network of 60 single-brand boutiques and more than 1,000 selected multi-brand outlets and top luxury department stores.

-By Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821 9908; gilles.castonguay@dowjones.com; Twitter: @GRCastonguay

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